title: What is found positive in healthcare information and communication technology implementation?-the results of a nationwide survey in Finland.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Considerable expectations have been placed on information and communication technology (ICT) in improving the processes and quality of healthcare. Our purpose was to find out which element is found positive in healthcare ICT implementation.
  
  
  METHODS
  An online questionnaire on e-Health implementation submitted to all Finnish public health service providers and a sample from the private sector included an open question about which the electronic working methods, systems, or applications have most positively influenced the fluency or quality of service processes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The electronic health record was mentioned as an item that has positive influence by 52% of the respondents from the hospital districts, 27% of those from the primary healthcare centers, and 38% of those from the private providers. Digital radiology systems (including teleradiology) were mentioned by 52% of the hospital districts and 27% of the primary healthcare centers. The figures for digital laboratory systems (including telelaboratory) were 5% and 11%, respectively. The figures for teleradiology itself were 5% for the hospital districts and 15% for the primary healthcare centers; the figures for telelaboratory systems were 5% and 9%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The specialized healthcare seem to experience intraorganizational electronic services integrated to the electronic health record, such as digital radiology and laboratory services as exerting a positive influence, whereas the primary healthcare find such influence from different functions such as interorganizational data exchange and telemedicine services. These might indicate where the efforts should be focused when implementing ICT in healthcare.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedicine, Finntelemedicum, University of Oulu , Oulu, Finland. ilkka.winblad@oulu.fi
authors.forename: Ilkka
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Winblad
authors.forename: Päivi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hämäläinen
authors.forename: Jarmo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reponen
mesh_terms: D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D005387:Finland; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006747:Hospital Communication Systems; D006751:Hospital Information Systems; D006801:Humans; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods*; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized / Q000295:instrumentation; D009862:Online Systems; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D019112:Teleradiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods